1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system and, more particularly, to such a control system which is particularly well suited to controlling access to subsystems, such as appliances or the like, permitting usage without the necessity of handling coinage and the innumerable problems associated therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of environments in which the operation and control of subsystems is replete with problems which not only interfere in general with the efficient operation of those subsystems, but also render their usage so unattractive as to be unacceptable.
For example, apartment complexes, university residence halls, military bases, commercial establishments and the like characteristically maintain laundry facilities accessible to authorized persons for the purpose of washing and drying clothing. Typically, such facilities provide for operation of the appliances through the use of coinage. Thus, the prospective operator inserts the required combination of coins into the coin mechanism of the appliance to initiate its operation. In the first place, such usage is inconvenient because the prospective operator may not have the required combination of coins. For this purpose, many commercial establishments employ money changing machines on site so that the prospective operators can obtain the required combination of change. However, such money changing machines are notoriously subject to breakdown, may not have the required combination of coins to dispense and frequently are the target of tampering and theft. Still further, whether or not such money changing machines are known to be present, it is evident that the patrons must be carrying money. As a consequence, the patrons of such facilities are at some degree of risk for robbery. This risk is aggravated by the fact that patrons frequently must use such facilities in the evening hours after dark when security may be uncertain.
Similarly, the money receiving mechanisms of the respective appliances are plagued by breakdown due to jamming, overuse and improper use. They also serve as an attractive target for theft. Since such theft :frequently involves an attempt to break into the coin box of the machine, damage not only to the coin mechanism, but also the appliance itself is frequently the result. Such coin mechanisms are frequently the target for various schemes to avoid payment such as by using slugs, or the insertion of objects into the coin slots in an attempt to trigger the operation of the appliance.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, perhaps the most significant problem associated with the use of coinage in the operation of appliances is the fact that it is inconvenient to the prospective operators. The necessity for obtaining the correct combination of coins in the necessary quantity is tedious, time consuming and generally offensive. Similarly, the carrying of the required combination of coins, once obtained, is onerous in that it is bulky, heavy and not readily handled.
While prior art efforts have included the on site dispensing of tokens, and the on site issuance of single use cards, all such prior art efforts have proved inadequate and therefore unsatisfactory. They are typically complicated and expensive devices, one of which must individually be mounted on each of the appliances.
There are still other more obscure problems which plague businesses which provide such facilities. These problems may generally be categorized as those attendant to the business operations themselves. These include the need to travel regularly to each of the facilities; collect from all of the coin boxes; tabulate the income from each site; maintain business records; institute in house security procedures to prevent skimming; circulate frequently through all of the facilities to ensure that the appliances are maintained in working order; and service and repair the money changing equipment. The need daily to perform all or most of these operations is expensive both in terms of the number of employees required as well as in the other direct expenses associated therewith. Furthermore, it is notoriously the case that income from such operations frequently goes unreported in income tax returns and therefore is not taxed. Conversely from the point of view of the persons using the appliances, the conventional need to gauge pricing to the coinage such as in twenty-five cent (25.cent.) increments means that the price charged for each cycle of operation is higher than would otherwise be the case.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a control system capable of conveniently, dependably and accurately controlling access to subsystems such as appliances avoiding the necessity for using coinage and thereby avoiding the host of problems associated therewith while ensuring that the prospective operators are able to use such appliances with a convenience and reliability promoting continued usage.